Best UFC Knockouts

The 50 Best UFC Knockouts Of All Time -- Lights Out!

Dropped. Dazed. Floored. Laid out. Slumped. Staggered. Put to sleep. There are many ways to say it but the result is the same: a knockout.

It’s one of our favorite moments in all of sports and the UFC delivers more than anyone else. With an entire catalogue of highlight reels to choose from, we rounded up our 50 favorite UFC knockouts of all-time. Click through the compilation to get your blood pumping with the perfect mix of beauty and brutality.

Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin I (UFC 64)

Jeremy Stephens literally knocked Rony Jason into tomorrow with a head kick that Jason walked right into. And then for good measure, he knocked him into the day after tomorrow with a brutal fist to the face before the referee could jump in.

Chris Leben vs. Terry Martin (Ultimate Fight Night 11)

One of the better comebacks you’ll see what Leben’s knockout of Martin at Fight Night 11. Leben was behind in the fight and probably needed the knockout to get the win. However, Martin kept rocking him with shots to the chin that had Leben dazed. Even so, he somehow managed to connect with a perfect shot to Martin’s chin — right after Martin taunted him — and it was light’s out.

Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry (UFC on Versus 4)

The Kongo-Barry fight not only produced one of the greatest knockouts we’ve ever seen, it also produced one of the craziest comebacks. Barry rocked Kongo a couple of times and it looked as if he was unconscious and ref Dan Miragliotta should have called the fight. Instead, Kongo, who did show a tiny semblance of cognizance, eventually recovered and ended up connecting with an uppercut that put Barry to sleep.

BJ Penn vs. Caol Uno (UFC 34)

Caol Uno probably had the coolest start to a fight we’ve ever seen in the UFC: an attempted running, flying kick. Luckily for B.J. Penn, he easily dodged it and then moved in and then fed Uno enough fists that he’ll never do that again. Whole thing only took 11 seconds.

Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort (UFC 126)

The UFC equivalent to Sharkeisha might be Silva’s assault on Belfort at UFC 126. Like Sharkeisha’s friend, Belfort never saw it coming. One minute the two fighters are measuring each other up in the middle of the octagon and the next thing you know it, Silva unleashes a vicious kick to Belfort’s face and finishes him off with a series of fists.

Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim (UFC 142)

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko Filipovic (UFC 70)

Cro Cop was an intimidating force in the heavyweight division prior to his meeting with Gonzaga at UFC 70. Gonzaga connected with a thunderous kick to the head that turned out the lights. Cro Cop was never the same after that, as he was 22-4-2 before and is just 9-7 since.

Lyota Machida vs. Randy Couture (UFC 129)

As UFC play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg accurately described it, Machida delivered The Karate Kid crane technique right to Randy Couture’s face at UFC 129. It was the kick that eventually sent The Natural into retirement.

Rich Franklin vs. Nate Quarry (UFC 56)

Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva (UFC 162)

Silva’s cockiness finally caught up with him at UFC 162. For years, The Spider had Floyd Mayweather-like defense and was arguably one of the toughest fighters to hit. He’d drop his hands, stick his chin out and taunt his opponent. Well, someone finally caught him, ending Silva’s 17-fight winning streak and run as the Middleweight champion.

Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva (UFC Brazil - 17.5)

When Belfort and Silva were scheduled for UFC, it was pretty clear the fight would end in a knockout one way or another. Belfort came out like he was shot out of a cannon and smothered The Axe Murderer. His relentless fists eventually ended the fight just 44 seconds in.

Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva (UFC 92)

There was bad blood between Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva when they met at UFC 92, as the two had already faced off in two epic fights. Silva won both matchups and Rampage really wanted this one. You could feel it as the two stood and traded. It felt like an emotional exorcism of sorts when Rampage finally dropped Silva with a shot to the chin. He then added a few more huge blows even though Yves Lavigne jumped in to end it.

Pete Williams vs. Mark Coleman (UFC 17)

Mark Coleman had control of the fight in the early going but the godfather of ground-and-pound couldn’t seal the deal. Both fighters eventually got back to their feet completely exhausted, which partially explains why Coleman’s reactions were too slow to stop a vicious kick to his face. If you watch in slow motion, you can actually see him realize that a kick is coming and that he needs to block it, but by the time his hands reach out, it’s over.

Mauricio Rua vs. Lyota Machida (UFC 113)

So much for Machida being untouchable. He was a perfect 16-0 when he met Rua for their rematch, and had been one of the toughest fighters to hit in UFC history. And then Rua found the range, knocking him down, then pinning and feeding him hands until he couldn’t take anymore.

Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture (UFC 91)

After getting submitted by Frank Mir and defeating Heath Herring, Brock Lesnar’s toughest UFC test was a showdown with the legend and heavyweight champion, Randy Couture. Lesnar was in control most of the way and then drilled Couture in the temple, which was the beginning of the end of the fight.

Junior dos Santos vs. Fabricio Werdum (UFC 90)

When they talk about leaning into a punch, Werdum is the definition. He leaned down only to meet dos Santos Tiger Uppercut, assisting the impact. Needless to say, Werdum crumpled as the lights went out.

Rashad Evans vs Sean Salmon (UFC Ultimate Fight Night 8)

Sean Salmon is currently on a 12-fight losing streak in MMA and if you needed more evidence that he wasn’t very good at his craft, check out Rashad Evans make him go night-night with a brutal head kick.

Yves Edwards vs. Josh Thomson (UFC 49)

You always remember your first. Josh Thomson suffered his first MMA loss to Yves Edwards in highlight reel fashion. Edwards got Thomson’s back early in the fight and while Thomson tried to break free with a spinning back fist, he was greeted with an Edwards kick to the face he wasn’t expecting.

BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk (UFC 84)

B.J. Penn destroyed at UFC 84, landing a flying knee directly to Sherk’s head that knocked him directly to the “do you want to continue” screen. He tried one or two more punches and it was game over for Sherk.

Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt (UFC 160)

When you watch this one, you might think that Hunt is taking a dive as it looks like dos Santos misses him with the kick. However, at closer look, you can see dos Santos’ calf making contact with Hunt’s face, making this kick knockout quite impressive.

Shonie Carter vs. Matt Serra (UFC 31)

Serra is just one of two fighters to beat GSP but at UFC 31, he was on the wrong side of the results. Shonie Carter rocked his world with a spinning back fist that handed Serra his first loss in professional MMA.

Phil Baroni vs. Dave Menne (UFC 39)

Baroni has an ugly 15-18 record in MMA and if his cognitive skills still function properly 10 years from now, that would be impressive. The good news is that one of his wins — his beatdown of Menne at UFC 39 — is a knockout for the age that might be the high watermark of his career. Baroni beat Menne like he owed him rent money until Menne couldn’t take any more.

Carlos Condit vs. Dan Hardy (UFC 120)

James Irvin vs. Terry Martin (UFC 54)

Flying knee knockouts are simply the best. Click the link to see Irvin knock the soul out of Martin. That was one of Irvin’s main career highlights as he would go on to lose nine of his next 17 fights.

BJ Penn vs. Matt Hughes III (UFC 123)

Hughes was in the twilight of his career when he decided to opt in for the rubber match of his trilogy with B.J. Penn. Hughes was clearly in the twilight of his career at this point, though, and The Prodigy hurt him very early in the first round, Hughes crumpled and that was that.

Antonio Silva vs. Alistair Overeem (UFC 156)

Isn’t it great when the bully gets served? Overeem talked plenty of trash to Silva before the fight but once he was dragged into a war, he couldn’t handle it. Bigfoot fed him fists until he was slumped over. Silva wanted even more afterwards but he was restrained as he taunted the unconscious Overeem.

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Nogueira (UFC 110)

When heavyweights start to connect, that’s when the octagon starts to rumble. Velasquez made it shake with a vicious series of fists that rocked Antonio Nogueira. It started with a huge uppercut that made Big Nog weak in the knees — and then he ate five more direct shots to the chin before Herb Dean jumped in.

Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell (UFC 115)

Franklin’s knockout of Liddell was quite impressive not just because it looked like Liddell was in control of the fight as it neared the end of the first round but also because Franklin had actually broken his forearm earlier in the fight. Iceman just left himself open for a split second and Franklin connected with a compact right that flattened Liddell.

Anderson Silva vs. Chris Leben (UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5)

Before his bout with Anderson Silva, Chris Leben talked the talk. However, once he stepped into the Octagon with The Spider, he was unable to walk the walk and Silva made sure he ate his words. 28 seconds in, it was pretty obvious that Leben had rattled the wrong cage. Silva opened up a can on his ass that he’ll never forget.

Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz I (UFC 47)

Chuck Liddell gives us a lesson on teeing off in this memorable knockout. Early in the second round, Ortiz went into a shell and Iceman just kept feeding him shots — roughly 20 in a row — before Ortiz dropped like a sack of bricks.

Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim (UFC 132)

Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler (UFC 47)

99 times out of 100, the punch that Diaz laid Lawler out with would not make this list. From a distance, it looked like a defensive jab as Diaz was stepping back, but in this particular instance, he just found the perfect sweet spot and put Lawler straight to bed.

Johnny Hendricks vs. Martin Kampmann (UFC 154)

Hendricks’ knockout of Kampmann was a thing of beauty. After connecting with a quick one-two, you could literally pinpoint the time that Kampmann was out. He went stiff while still on his feet and fell down like a cut tree.

Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez (UFC on Fox 1)

Dos Santos has earned three Knockout of the Night honors so far in his career, and laying out Cain Velasquez might be his prettiest. He swung for the fences with an overhand right that connected and immediately floored Velasquez. While Velasquez hung on temporarily, the fight ended shortly after dos Santos jumped on top and kept feeding him punches.

John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson (UFC 129)

Kyle Watson never saw it coming. Nobody did. John Makdessi moved in for what looked like would be a kick and Watson got his hands up to block…except no kick was coming. Makdessi faked him out and instead delivered a spinning back fist to Watson’s wide open chin.

Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes II (UFC 65)

Hughes and GSP engaged in some very entertaining bouts but GSP’s knockout win in their second bout — the one that ended Hughes’ run as Welterweight Champion — was quite memorable. After it looked like Hughes was saved by the bell in the first round, GSP finished the job in Round 2 starting with a lethal kick to the head.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Keith Jardine (UFC 84)

At UFC 84, Silva literally beat the brakes off of Jardine. After Jardine tried a half-assed leg kick, Silva got inside and floored Jardine with a combo. Jardine fought for survival valiantly but it all ended with Silva basically pinning him down, holding his head in place and feeding him bombs.

Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin (Ultimate Fight Night 14)

For a long period of time, Silva’s defense and counter-attacking was second to none and James Irvin was just one of many who found that out the hard way. Irvin tried a lazy leg kick that Silva easily blocked. Before Irvin could even pull his leg back, he was already getting rocked by a Silva counterpunch. Irvin went down, ate a few more shots and that was that.

Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold (UFC on FX 8)

If you’ve ever played Street Fighter with Ken and performed a roundhouse kick, then this knockout will be quite familiar. That’s exactly what Belfort did to Rockhold to end his night in what was deemed the 2013 Knockout of the Year.

Gary Goodridge vs. Paul Herrera (UFC 8)

Goodridge might have the most creative knockout on this list. Just as the play-by-play commentator was praising Herrera for his grappling skills, Goodridge caught him in a human crucifix and started feeding him elbows to the side of his head, ending the fight 13 seconds in.

Johnny Hendricks vs. Jon Fitch (UFC 141)

Fight’s out…I’ma bout to punch yo…lights out. That’s exactly what Johnny Hendricks did in his bout with Jon Fitch at UFC 141. Fitch forgot to guard his grill and 12 seconds after the start, it was over.

Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping (UFC 100)

Henderson had a Mortal Kombat-like fatality of Bisping at UFC 100. After drilling him with an overhand right that clearly knocked him out, Hendo came in for the “Finish Him.” Bisping was already unconscious as he was falling to the ground and when he finally got there, Hendo added in a flying forearm-drop for good measure.

Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin (UFC 101)

In what Sherdog called the “2009 Beatdown of the Year,” Silva rocked Griffin’s world. Silva basically fought the entire way with his hands down and his chin right in front of Griffin’s face, yet Griffin still couldn’t connect. Silva knocked him down three times in the first round before Griffin couldn’t take anymore.

Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell (UFC 88)

At UFC 88, Evans was deemed to be a tad one-dimensional in terms of his skillset: a solid grappler but one with so-so hands. Nobody ever said that again after his fight with Liddell.

While everyone wanted Iceman to win as Evans was booed repeatedly, the villain won on this day. As Liddell tracked him down in the octagon, the two got into a standing exchange and Liddell uncorked a vicious right that immediately made Liddell limp. Iceman would go on to lose two more UFC fights and then retire.

Lyota Machida vs. Rashad Evans (UFC 98)

Evans’ run was short-lived as he knocked out Liddell, then knocked out Forrest Griffin to win the Light Heavyweight Championship only to give it all back at UFC 98. Machida rocked him early and then kept the pressure on for a good 30 seconds until Evans took one last shot and crumpled like a cheap tent.